Suture box



June 26, 1923. 1,459,943

E. M. BAILEY SUTURE BOX Filed June 21. 1922 Ina/enter. ETHEL M. 5/4/LEKattorneys.

Patented June 26, 1.923.

ETHEL M. BAILEY, 0F YREKA, CALIFORNIA.

SUTURE BOX.

Application filed June 21, 1922.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, E'IHIJL M. BAILEY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Yreka, county of Siskiyou, andState of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in SutureBoxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a tray or container for the reception ofsurgical implements and the like, and particularly to a special form oftray or container to be known as a suture box.

When performing certain major operations, and particularly when unitingthe lips or edges of an incision or wound by stitching, it is necessarythat needles and sutures of varying size, together with other implementsand means for sterilizing the same, be provided, and further that theneedles, sutures, etc, should be separated and arranged as to size sothat they may be quickly and readily selected when required.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a tray or suture boxwhich may be placed within convenient reach of the surgeon or nurse whenan operation is be ing performed, said suture box having a series oftroughs and compartments formed therein for the reception of needles andsutures of varying size, a sterilizing agent such as alcohol or thelike, glass spools containing silk and linen thread, and other materialsor implements required.

The object of the present invention is to generally improve and simplifysuture boxes of the character described; to provide a container of thischaracter permitting separation and classification of the differentmaterials and implements employed, and further to provide a novel spoolsupport for the reception of a plurality of spools and from which thethreads may be readily removed as required. Other objects willhereinafter appear.

One form which my invention may assume is exemplified in the followingdescription and illustrated in the accompanyin drawings, in whichig. 1is a perspective view of the suture box.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a sealed glass tube containin a suturethread.

Referring to the rawings in detail, and particularly to Fig. 1, Aindicates in general a rectangular shaped container con- Serial' No.569,783.

sisting of end sections 2 and 3, a front section 4, a back section 5,and a bottom section 6. The container is divided into a plurality ofcompartments as shown by means of a spacer B, said spacer comprising alongitudinally disposed member 7,

rarest" oFricE. f

and a series of integral cross members 8.

The spacer is held in position when placed in the container by verticalgrooves or channels formed in the front and rear sections,

as indicated at 9, and as such may be readily removed for cleaning orother purposes.

Formed at one end of the main container is a trough 10, and similarlyformed at the opposite end is a trough 11. Similarly formed along thefront ed e of the conbers are suitably secured to the rear side of theback section 5, and the leg 18 terminates in a horizontallydisposedsocket memher 19 into which one end of the bar 16 maybeinserted. The leg 17 and the bar 16 are formed from one piece of wireand the leg 18 from a separate piece of wire and this leg is providedwith a bend or loop 20 at its lower end which renders the leg 18flexible to such an extent that the socket 19 may be removed withrelation to the bar 16. The bar may thus be deflected or raised as shownby dotted lines at 21 and spools such as indicated at 22 may thus bereadily applied or removed.

The sutures employed in certain operations when stitching wounds or thelike are as a rule received in sealed glass tubes as illustrated in Fig.2, that is the suture is in reality nothing more or less than a catgutthread which is placed within the tube. The tube is then filled withalcohol or a similar sterilizing agent and it is then sealed andmaintained in such a condition for future use. Some hospitals preparetheir own catgut, but most modern institutions buy the manufacturedcatgut prepared, sterilized and sealed in tubes as shown in Fig. 2.

The spacer B divides the container into ten compartments and the tubescontaining the sterilized catgut or sutures are placed in thesecompartments according to size and grade. There are five sizes of plainsutures and there are usually five sizes known as chromic. Both gradesare obtainable in five sizes, to-Wit, #00, O, 1, 2, 3. The tubescontaining the sutures are accordingly placed in their respectivecompartments and as such are separated and classified, and may thus bereadily selected when required.

The trough 10 may be employed for the reception of cutting needles ofvarying sizes and the trough 11 for round needles. The bar 16 isemployed for the reception of glass spools on Which is Wound silk andlinen threads and spools containing other threads may naturally beemployed if required.

hen a certain size and grade of suture is required it is only necessaryto remove the tube containing the same from the compartment in Which itis placed. The tube is then broken and the alcohol, together with thesuture, is placed in the trough 12 Where it is retained until required.The suture will therefore remain in a perfect sterilized conditionuntilused.

The tray or suture box as constructed may obviously be placed Withinconvenient reach of the surgeon or nurse using the same, and

other implements or materials required may also be placed in the boX,and as the trough 12 is falrly large, it can readily be seen that allinstruments employed may be quickly sterilized before being used. Thesuture box While preferably constructed of metal may obviously beconstructed of any other material suitable for the purpose, and Isimilarly ish it understood that While the eneral design is more or lessspecifically i lustrated, that various changes in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Within the scopeof the appended claims. c

Having thus described my invention, What comprising a bottom section,end sections and a front and rear section, said rear section beinghigher than the front and end sections, a trough forming a continuationof each end section, a trough forming a continuation of the frontsection, corner shelves connecting thefront and end troughs, and aspacer disposed in the container dividmg the same into a plurality ofcompartments.

3. A device of the character described comprising'a rectangular shapedcontainer comprising a bottom section, end sections and a front and rearsection, said rear section being higher thanthe front and end sections,a trough forming a continuation of each end section, a trough forming acontinuation of the front section, corner shelves connecting the frontand end troughs, a

spacer disposed. in the container dividing the same into a plurality ofcompartments, and channel members formed in the front and rear sectionsto guide and secure the spacer.

4. In a device of the character described the combination with acontainer and the rear section thereof, of a pair of verticallydisposed, flexible leg members secured tothe rear section, a socketmember on the upper end of one leg section, and a horizontal bar adaptedto be received thereby formlng a continuation of the other leg section,said horizontal bar formlng a spool support.

ETHEL M. BAILEY.

